


Duo means Two

by ProwlingThunder



Series: Stardust [3]
Category: Gundam Wing, Transformers
Genre: Gen, Living Robots, Might Be Telepathy, No Gundam War AU, Re-purposed Transformers, Symbiotic Relationship, Transformers Are People Too, War With Aliens AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 04:37:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4990519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProwlingThunder/pseuds/ProwlingThunder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Duo means two. His name is just a little more literal now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Duo means Two

Truth is, Peacemillion is a city-ship. It was designed that way; it was designed to house suits and pilots in space for extended periods of time. It was basically a colony.

It looks like a colony, too. There is even a zoo. Not that L2 had had one, of course, but Duo Maxwell had always liked zoos. He knew what they were. It had been his first non-mission-related place of visitation when he had first hit Earth. 

But right now he leans against the barrier that keeps him out of the wolf enclosure and watches the inhabitants, soaking in the sound of the various aviaries while his mind drifted. It was a soothing thing. Easy. Relaxing. The idea of a nature-ish environment had probably been Quatre's idea. Or Wufei's. Though maybe not; more likely it had belonged to someone older, someone who had actually had a serious plan from earlier in the war.

Probably dead now. Privately, Duo liked to believe it had been one of them. Winner Corp or Dragon Clan. The Khushrenada foundation, maybe. Treize would have had the vision.

He hooked his fingers into the barrier and felt Deathscythe lean away from his vision, focusing more on Duo himself, checking on him. From all the way in his hanger bay.

He had been feeling it long enough now not to shiver, but it didn't stop the echo of wrongness that came with it. Deathscythe wasn't apologetic, and Duo wasn't asking for one, but...

Whatever. It wasn't like there weren't stranger things that could happen beside a big robot in his head.

It wasn't like the five of them had been the last, either. The Dragon Clan had provided a lot of soldiers for the Suit project, son and daughter alike, and a lot of them were even still alive. Wufei had been the first for them, but there had been others. The Winner's had been mostly support staff, of course; Duo saw them in the hangers often, as mechanics, digging fingers in to repair or keep maintained. They had been there for most of the war, too. And doctors-- Quatre's family thrilled at playing with needles.

There were so many. They had all started getting numbered. They all shared Suit register numbers. Which was weirder than sharing head-space with one.

Well. He had always been Duo.

Animals didn't have numbers, of course. Which made them fun to watch. Also their shapes were a source of freedom, too; a part of him, the part that wasn't him at all, missed having other shapes. Missed changing. Maybe one day they'd have it back.

Duo's lips quirked down into a frown. Deathscythe slid closer to him, inside him, in a way of apology, and something settled inside Duo that was actually his own. 

“ _I do not mean to sound whimsical_ ,” which coming from a Suit was downright nearly philosophical, though Deathscythe would have denied it. Considering the miles between them, Duo was surprised with how clear it all came in, Deathscythe to Duo, Duo to Deathscythe. Words, emotions, images.

It bothered him. But only a little, now.

“ _I was Recon. Camouflage was important, so I had a lot of forms to... blend in._ ” A hesitance, and then a sense of wryness came through. Dry humor, but honesty; like he was reading Deathscythe's florescent coding. He could tell the difference. “ _Invisible is better, tactically. I don't have to change anymore._ ”

 _If I change,_ Deathscythe didn't say, though Duo heard it anyway. _If I change, We wouldn't be Us._

It helped. A sort of balm.

Duo leaned his forehead into the fence and closed his eyes. He was going to have a few chain-link indentations later. “You're not really invisible. It's mirror refraction or something. Camera circuitry.”

“ _Close enough,_ ” which meant that it was. They might as well be invisible in reality. The enemy had never been able to see them coming-- and neither had their allies. Despite his official flares, he didn't show up with an IFF or any of the pings for any of the CID radars. Sonar could find him, if he was the only thing out there, but usually he wasn't, so.

Usually they had had to open comms to let their allies know who they were, which took precious seconds in combat usually needed for devotion to actual combat. So they were an invisible hunk of metal fighting in a field, virtually a third party. How they had managed to keep from getting mutually killed was beyond Duo's comprehension. Calling oneself the God of Death didn't exactly make it anything real, after all.

Though communications had gotten a lot easier when intent could suddenly be projected. Quatre could do it easily; could talk without talking, and hear without being anywhere around, and if any of the Suit Pilots wanted actual privacy they needed to be in the suits or otherwise somewhere wave frequencies couldn't pass or in the area of effect of an EMP-- nobody actually knew what an EMP would do to them.

Point was, Quatre had himself a Wifi Hi-def receiver dish set complete with a microphone he could turn on and off. Charles Xavier, eat your heart out.

Duo was still calibrating a soap-box radio. And the only reliable channel was Us; himself and Deathscythe. Pfft.

“ _Telepathy would be fairly accurate for this phenomenon. We transmit radio waves to and from each other._ ”

Duo reluctantly opened his eyes to stare at the wolf enclosure again, not really seeing anything but greenery. Trowa was the wild animal guy; Duo did lockpicks. And robots, apparently. “You guys spend way too much time on the internet. Technophile.”

Deathscythe's voice twisted into a smile. Duo could hear it. “ _I believe that is Wing's partner. We would be... hemophiles, I believe._ ”

Pilot 02 groaned. “Oh my god, I am so not having this conversation with you right now.”

That smile turned smug. “ _Cherries for dinner. You can lick that stain away without feeling guilty._ ”


End file.
